Road to recovery could be harder now with COVID-19

Some health experts are saying the road to addiction recovery is much harder now because of the coronavirus.

Posted: Apr 2, 2020 6:59 PM

Posted By: Richard Solomon

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI)- Recovering from addiction is a hard thing to do.

Some are saying it's even harder as COVID-19 has altered our lives.

We spoke with several representatives from Groups Recover Together and the Hamilton Center.

We were told right now is a critical time because people could relapse.

Self-isolation can heighten stress and anxiety.

This could be a trigger for people who are on the road to recovery.

The fear is that many will spiral back into substance abuse.

That's without having those face-to-face interactions with peer and recovery groups.

Many services have moved to a TeleMed service.

Places like Groups Recover Together or the Hamilton Center have meetings through FaceTime or Skype.

Stacey Totten is the manager of Recovery Services for the Hamilton Center.

She said go outside and get some fresh air, or write your thoughts down in a journal can help to deal with being inside.

These simple practices are essential now more than ever.

"With isolating that's something that people who are entering into recovery want to get away from. So just being able to connect in any way that you can whether it be online whether it be calling someone and just really getting online and using those virtual methods is really imperative right now," said Totten.

Totten said she has one on one phone calls to help people stay on course.

Here are some links if you know someone or are someone who may need help.